Fastening device



y 6, 1943 G. A. TINNERMAN 2323690 FASTENING. DEVICE Original Filed March 24, 1939 PatentedJuly s, 1943 FASTENING DEVICE George A. Tinnerman, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to Tinnerman Products, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Original application March 24, 1939, Serial No.

Divided and this application November 24, 1942, Serial No. 466,734

2 Claims.

Thisinvention relates to fasteners and particularly tothose which are made of sheet metal and thatare adapted for use in holding two or more articles together. The invention is usefulin connection with a fastener that is intended for use in a. blind location, that is, where an operator cannot readily hold a nut while he is inserting a bolt into it. Heretofore, reliance has been placed upon extraneous means, 'such as rivets'or other kindred devices for holding the fastener in place, but there are many instances, particularly in automotive assembly, where sheet metal fas-.

teners are desirable in blind locations, but where it is impractical to .hold them in a satisfactory manner by means of extraneous devices.

An object of the present invention therefore the arm adjacent the opening I4 has a thread follower associated therewith.

The thread-engaging portion of the fastener comprises a pair of opposed tongues l6 which are formed integrally with the arm ll and'extend out of the plane thereof in oppositely inclined directions. The thickness of the metal of which the fastener isformed is preferably uniform throughout its length. and is less than the pitch of the thread on a bolt with which it is intended. to be used. Accordingly, the tongues it are deformed to correspond to the helixof the bolt thread and fit snugly within the thread, and

is to make a sheet metal fastener in such manner that when it is applied to a part having a bolt receiving aperture in a blind location it. will automatlcally hold'itself in bolt receiving position on the part, thereby enabling the boltto be inserted without requiring the operator to hold the fastener while the b It is being threaded into it. An additional object s to make a sheet metal fastener which will operate to hold an article other than a bolt and which will be retained automatically in article receiving position upon a support.

The present application is a division of. my pending application 263,874, for a Fastening de-: vice, filed March 24, 1939.

Referring now to the drawing, Fig. 1 is a vertical section longitudinally through the midregion of my fastener in position embracing a member which is clamped to another member bya screw engaging the fastener; Fig. 2 is a plan of the fastener; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the fastener on the line.3-8, on Fig. 2, showing also a portion of the member embraced therer by; Fig. 4 is a cross section of thefas'tener on the line l4 on Fig. 2.

engage one turn thereof, as shown in Fig. 1.

To position the fasteneron the part embraced, I have provided two article-engaging tongues 25, formed on the bridges l8 .of the arm H and adapted to extend into the opening 2| of the part l3 and lie close to the Periphery of such opening, thus positioning the fastener so that the opening l5 in the arm I? and the opening between the tongues all register with the opening H. The downwardly extending projections 25 are integral portions of the arm II, being formed out of the metal which is removed to provide the openings between the ends of the tongues.

A fastener made in accordance with my invention is advantageous in that thearticle engaging portion is formed from the same arm which has the thread-engaging portion or article engaging Y portion therein. This simplifies the construc- The fastener is shown as a strip of sheet metal which is bent inwardly at m to provide two arms, one of which is indicated at ll and theother at H2. The arms may be spaced aparta distance,

that corresponds tothe thickness of the part or support is on which the fastener is intended for use. 'ture is therein for receiving the shank of a bolt or similar device while the arm l2 may have an aperture it in registration with the opening it and through which the shank of a fastenerll (Fig. 1) may extend. The opening i5 is adapted to clear the shank of the bolt but'that part of Additionally, the arm I I may' have an apertion without unduly weakening the holding power of the fastener.

I claim:

l. A fastener for securing a structure provided with a hole through which a screw or the like extends comprising a strip having two arms which are spaced suiflciently to receive a support between them, one of the arms being formed with a pair of integral spring tongues extending diagonally upwardly from the latter arm toward their free ends, said free ends being spaced apart and Warped to provide a helical turn and the sides of the tongues being severed from the arm, whereby the two portions of such arm beyond the roots of the tongues are connected by bridge portions at the outer sides ofthe tongues. and a downward projection on one ofthe bridge portions iorm'ed by turning downwardly a part .of the vmaterial of the arm in the region between the adjacent ends of the two tongues, said projection being adapted to-enter the hole'in the structure, thereby to locate the fastener with reference thereto. a p

2. A- fastener for securing a structure provided with a hole through which a screw or the like extends comprising a sheet metal strip formed ,with a pair of integral spring tongues extending tongues, and downward integral projections on the bridge portions formed by turning downwardly a part of the material of the strip from the region between the adjacent ends of the two tongues, said projections being adapted to enter the hole in the structure, thereby to hold the fastener against displacement.

GEORGE A. 'I'INNERMAN. 

